Aboriginal children In Canada – Accounted for 7% of all children in Canada but 48% of all foster children

This study uses data from the National Household Survey (NHS) to examine the living arrangements of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under, and includes results about Aboriginal children who lived with a lone parent, with their grandparents, or in a stepfamily. The study also provides key statistics about Aboriginal foster children.

• In 2011, there were 392,100 Aboriginal children aged 14 and under in Canada, representing 28% of the total Aboriginal population. By comparison, non-Aboriginal children in the same age group represented 17% of the total non-Aboriginal population.
• Aboriginal children aged 14 and under were less likely than non-Aboriginal children to live with married parents, twice as likely to live with a lone parent and twice as likely to live with their grandparents. They were also more likely to live in a stepfamily.
• In 2011, there were more than 14,000 Aboriginal children aged 14 and under in foster care. Aboriginal children accounted for 7% of all children in Canada but for almost one-half (48%) of all foster children.
• Three-quarters (76%) of Aboriginal foster children lived in the four Western provinces, compared with 62% of Aboriginal children who were not in foster care. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 85% or more of foster children were Aboriginal children.
• In 2011, 44% of Aboriginal foster children lived with at least one Aboriginal foster parent. This percentage varied across provinces, from 29% in Alberta to 70% in New Brunswick and in Newfoundland and Labrador. In the territories, this percentage was 13% in Yukon, 45% in the Northwest Territories and 88% in Nunavut.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  Living arrangements of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under